What are the benefits available to you from the world of offshore savings, investment, finance and banking?
We know that choosing the right strategy, the right investment and the right product is no easy task in this day and age! Whether its advice, investments or financial planning we are here to answer all your questions and facilitate all your financial needs.
Even in this day and age of enlightenment thanks to the pervasive nature of information dissemination via the internet, some people are still concerned about the legalities and legitimacy of the offshore world of finance and banking. For some reason others simply assume that onshore equates to a ‘safe haven’ for money and offshore equates to a ‘risky tax haven.’
Well, you and I know that that is simply not the case! However, even though it is now clearer to more people that the offshore world holds many potential taxation benefits, there are still questions to be answered about why one should invest offshore and in this article we explore the benefits.
First things first…here’s another myth I wish to dispel – some people say that offshore investments and bank accounts are more lightly regulated than their entity-type-counterparts onshore…now, that’s not necessarily true!
Yes, certain jurisdictions give fund managers, bankers and investors pretty much free rein so that the rewards and risks are potentially far greater – but some jurisdictions are very highly regarded among financial professionals simply because of the incredibly high standards of protection they afford investors and account holders through insurance schemes and government regulation requirements for example:
The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are examples of offshore jurisdictions where offshore investment and saving policy or bank account holders are afforded high levels of protection. Just taking the Isle of Man – it offers policyholder protection schemes, it also has the highest financial services rating issued by the OECD, FATF and FSF and it has an independent Financial Services Ombudsman scheme not to mention the fact that both Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s have given the Isle of Man AAA ratings.
So – myth dispelled, let’s move on.
In terms of the benefits available when investing offshore they will always, always depend on the particular circumstances of the individual investor – but offshore financial services and structures can be used as part of an overall asset protection strategy for example, investing offshore can afford an investor greater flexibility in terms of international accessibility and the commodities, equities, derivatives, stocks, shares or companies they can invest in, plus there are of course sometimes significant taxation benefits available to an account holder depending on their countries of tax residence and domicile.
Other answers to the question posed by this article – namely ‘why invest offshore?’ – are because there are general benefits available including more efficient estate planning potential, privacy and confidentiality, better interest returns, the chance to exploit active business interests overseas in low or no tax locations and global access to assets and income.
So, while the internet has been fantastic in terms of allowing more people to become far more broadly informed – especially about subjects as seemingly taboo as all things offshore – it is still absolutely in a government’s interests to avoid advising people that the offshore world is open and available to them because they may well lose out on taxation revenue as a result! This means it is up to independent websites such as World Financial Asset Advisory to give you free access to facts and general information and for you to then see how and why such information is or is not applicable to your own personal circumstances. At which stage you can then take specific and expert advice from a qualified individual as to how you can best utilize the offshore world.
And on that final note there is just one more thing to say! A potential investor (you) has to be absolutely sure that the actions they are about to take in terms of placing assets offshore will be of benefit to them. Additionally they need to make sure that they are acting legally, that a company they are entrusting with their money is legitimate and that they understand the risks associated with their decisions.
To that end we always advise that you should to do your own due diligence on the jurisdiction recommended to you or chosen by you, the company you are considering investing or banking with and the policy or account you are taking out. Common sense is the main key to ensuring you do not make a mistake when entering the world of offshore finance and common sense is something we here at Invest Offshore pride ourselves on!
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